Loopholes That Allowed Killer To Become Teacher Spur Bills

In October 1993, Los Angeles school officials discovered that they
had put a killer in the classroom.

The district had hired a teacher who years earlier admitted in court
that he had killed someone.

The California justice department's analysis of the teacher's
fingerprints--a routine part of the district's job-application
process--turned up the information about his past.

But even then, the district said it had few options for removing the
teacher: The man was never convicted of a crime. Instead, he was found
not guilty by reason of insanity in 1975 for murdering the therapist
who was treating him for emotional problems.

The man, who had a valid state teaching credential, slipped through
several legal loopholes, people familiar with the case said.

But after a twist of events brought the situation in Los Angeles to
the state's attention, lawmakers and others began lobbying for two new
bills that could prevent similar situations.

Concern for Rights

The first bill, which is expected to have broad support when
California legislators consider it this month, would speed background
checks of new school employees. Its proponents say the state and
federal investigations of applicants take too long now--and that
districts often end up hiring someone before criminal checks are
completed.

The second bill could stir more controversy. It would require the
state Commission on Teacher Credentialing to revoke the license of
anyone who had been found insane by a federal or state court.

Some advocates for the mentally ill say the proposal is ambiguous
and that it could conflict with federal laws protecting the rights of
the disabled.

But the bill's supporters say classroom teachers must be held to a
higher standard than other workers because of their close contact with
children.

"We're not saying you can't hold any other job in society," said
Stacy Smith, an assistant to Assemblyman Brooks Firestone, the author
of the bill. "We're saying you can't teach."

District's Discovery

The example of the Los Angeles teacher may be extreme, but it
highlights the need for tighter controls for entry into the profession,
some observers said. (See Education Week, 11/9/94.)

The Los Angeles district took every precaution in hiring, they
added, but the teacher still slipped through the system.

When he applied for the job in 1993, the teacher properly filled out
the required forms, answering "no" when asked if he had been convicted
of a crime, said Walt Greene, the director of employee services for the
district.

The man's r‚sum‚ did not include the time he spent in
treatment at a mental institution from 1975 to 1982. And when
administrators screened the teacher for criminal convictions on two
other occasions, nothing turned up.

It was the state justice department's fingerprint check that finally
raised a red flag. The department, along with the Federal Bureau of
Investigation, screens job candidates for the district.

But the man, who also had been a substitute teacher in other
California districts, remained in the classroom for nearly a year.

Mr. Greene said the school had no grounds for dismissing him. His
state license had been renewed without incident, and he did not fall
under state laws barring sex offenders, drug dealers, or other
convicted criminals from teaching.

"We did all the things legally we could do," Michael Acosta, the
district's administrator for employment operations, said.

Chain Reaction

Several events, however, conspired against the teacher.

He was excused from jury duty last year after acknowledging his
past, and, at the same time, a superior court judge discovered that the
potential juror was also a teacher, Mr. Greene said.

Outraged, the judge asked the district for confirmation and then
wrote to Gov. Pete Wilson about the situation but did not name the
teacher.

The judge's letter, which apparently was leaked to the news media,
brought additional scrutiny to the district.

Shortly thereafter, school officials moved the teacher--still in his
probationary period as an employee--to an office job away from
children. They had "lost confidence in his teaching," said Mr. Greene,
noting that several parents had complained about him.

The matter could have ended there, but legislators, state officials,
and others wanted to take action to save other districts from the same
experience.

Los Angeles school officials have testified in favor of Mr.
Firestone's bill, and they helped craft the separate bill to speed
background checks, sponsored by Assemblyman Willard H. Murray Jr.

Under the background-check measure, early screenings would be done
through local law-enforcement computers, although checks by the state
and the F.B.I. would still be required, Mr. Greene said.

The California Teachers Association is following that bill closely
but has not taken a position, a union official said last week.

However, the union opposes Mr. Firestone's bill because it does not
account for the recovery of those judged at one time to be insane. And
others, such as advocates for the mentally ill, also say they think the
measure goes too far.

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